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The comparison reads the same evidence fields used by broker profiles, so users can scan scores, regulation, costs, platforms, withdrawals, and caveats side by side.
Broker 1
Broker 2
| VS field |  |  |
|---|---|---|
Decision summary | ||
| Overall score | 78 | 91 |
| Trust score | 82 | 100 |
| Cost score | 66 | 92 |
| Platform score | 90 | 92 |
| Withdrawal score | 72 | 89 |
| Best for | Active stock and ETF traders · Options traders · Day traders | European self-directed investors seeking low-cost access to stocks and ETFs · Investors who prefer web/mobile platforms and exchange-traded products |
| Watch out | Needs verification | Needs verification |
Trust & regulation | ||
| Regulators | Registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer; member FINRA, NFA and SIPC. Source | Primarily supervised by BaFin and Bundesbank in Germany; Dutch branch registered with DNB and supervised by AFM and DNB. Source |
| License numbers | CRD#: 104369 / SEC#: 8-52843 Source | Financial licence number not disclosed in reviewed official sources. Commercial registrations found: flatexDEGIRO Bank SE HRB 141330 on flatexDEGIRO Bank SE imprint; DEGIRO UK footer states HRB 105687; Dutch Branch KvK 82510245. Source |
| Regulated entities | Lightspeed Financial Services Group LLC, U.S. broker-dealer; CRD 104369; SEC 8-52843; member FINRA, NFA and SIPC. Source | DEGIRO is operated by flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch, a branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank SE; flatexDEGIRO Bank SE is a licensed German bank headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. Source |
| Negative balance protection | No explicit negative balance protection was found; margin and day-trading disclosures warn clients can lose more than they deposit and be responsible for shortfalls. Source | No negative balance protection found. Official account-profile page warns losses can exceed deposit and result in a negative Balance for derivatives, margin and short-selling services; margin profiles are legacy-only. Source |
| Investor compensation | SIPC member; SIPC coverage available only for securities and cash held in connection with purchase or sale of securities in equities and equities options accounts. Source | Cash in flatexDEGIRO Bank SE Cash Account protected up to €100,000 per customer under German Deposit Guarantee Scheme; investor compensation covers up to 90% of non-returned assets, max €20,000 per customer; UK FSCS does not apply. Source |
| Restricted countries | Country-level restricted list not found on official pages; legal disclosure lists Section 311 prohibited entities/banks for which accounts/access cannot be maintained. Source | Available via listed country selector in Europe/UK; US persons are not accepted; UK onboarding for new clients was temporarily unavailable on the reviewed UK page. Source |
Costs & account conditions | ||
| Minimum deposit | Lightspeed Trader Pro from $2,500 for U.S. accounts and $5,000 for non-U.S. accounts; platform comparison lists $5,000 for Trader Pro/Web & Mobile, $25,000 for Sterling/EZE, $30,000 Connect API, $50,000 DAS, $175,000 portfolio margin. Source | No fixed minimum deposit identified; DEGIRO homepage says users can add any amount of money to the account for free. Bank-account verification search result states minimum EUR 0.01 for linking a new bank account. Source |
| Spread from | Not applicable or not broker-level for this investment-platform profile; review if leveraged products apply. Source | Not a quoted-spread CFD/FX broker field. DEGIRO discloses that bid-ask spreads are implicit market costs and not direct broker costs. Source |
| Commission | Not disclosed in extracted official sources; needs editor review. Source | Examples from UK fee page: US stocks €1 + €1 handling; LSE £1.75 + £1 handling; selected ETFs €0 + €1 handling; global ETFs €2 + €1 handling; options €0.75 commission. Currency, connectivity, external product and spread costs may apply. Source |
| Maximum leverage | Reg T allows borrowing up to 50% of purchase price; portfolio margin may exceed 4:1 intraday/2:1 overnight; futures intraday leverage is discretionary, usually 2:1 and can be as high as 4:1. Source | DEGIRO currently does not allow new changes to margin-trading profiles; legacy Active/Trader/Day Trader accounts may have Debit Money / derivatives risk but maximum leverage was not disclosed in reviewed sources. Source |
| Deposit fee | Lightspeed does not charge for ACH transfers and does not charge to receive incoming wire deposits; third-party transfers not accepted. Source | No deposit fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; deposits listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees. Source |
| Withdrawal fee | ACH withdrawals free; domestic wires $20; international wires $50; standard check free, overnight check $45; outgoing ACAT $95. Source | No withdrawal fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; withdrawals listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees. Source |
| Inactivity fee | Accounts below $15,000 are charged a $25 monthly minimum inactivity/minimum commission fee minus actual commissions if they generate less than $25 monthly commissions. Source | No inactivity fee; UK fee page lists inactivity fee as €0. Source |
Markets, platforms & payments | ||
| Tradable assets | Stocks, ETFs, options, futures, and futures options. Source | Shares, ETFs, bonds and derivatives such as options and futures; DEGIRO product pages also describe investment funds availability. Source |
| Trading platforms | Lightspeed Trader Pro, Lightspeed Web & Mobile, Sterling Trader Pro, Lightspeed Connect API, EZE EMS, DAS Trader Pro, and futures platforms including efutures powered by CQG, CQG Trader, CQG One. Source | DEGIRO provides a web/desktop trading platform (Webtrader) and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Source |
| Account types | Individual, Joint, Traditional/Roth/SEP/Rollover/Limited Margin IRA, Corporate, LLC, Partnership, Hedge Funds, Trusts, plus institutional account arrangements. Source | DEGIRO account/profile types include Basic, Active, Trader, Day Trader and Custody. Active, Trader and Day Trader are legacy-only and new margin profiles are no longer available. Source |
| Deposit methods | ACH electronic transfers, wire transfers, and account transfers/ACAT; third-party transfers not accepted. Source | Manual bank transfer from a verified linked/reference bank account; deposits must use the account base currency. Source |
| Withdrawal methods | Withdrawals by ACH, wire, ACAT transfer to another institution, or check request. Source | Withdrawals go back to the primary registered/linked bank account; only uninvested cash in the Cash Account can be withdrawn. Source |
| Withdrawal processing time | ACH transfers take 2 business days; withdrawal requests received by 2:30 PM ET are processed same day; wires usually received same business day; checks take 3-5 business days after same-day processing. Source | Withdrawals may take up to 2-4 working days; transfers can take up to 2-3 working days to complete. Source |
BrokerVS provides broker comparison research only. Scores and evidence can vary by country, account type, and legal entity; users should verify source links before opening an account.